Pune: State Government Orders New Ward Structure For PMC Elections, Confusion Ensues Regarding Number Of Members
Pune, 24th November 2022: The state government has ordered a new ward structure for the upcoming elections of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). But according to the January Gazette, the municipal administration says the ward will have three members. According to the cabinet decision, a four-member ward structure is approved. Therefore, confusion regarding the number of members in the ward has emerged.
The state government had earlier decided to make one member ward for other municipal elections in the state, including Pune. Accordingly, the Election Commission gave an order to the Municipal Corporation and asked it to form the wards. While this work was in progress, the discussion of having two divisions instead of one gained momentum. However, the then Maha Vikas Aghadi government decided to divide the three members in the cabinet meeting. After that, the Election Commission issued orders in this regard. Accordingly, the ward structure was prepared and finalized after taking notice of objections. The reservation was also removed. After that, there was a change of power in the state.
Meanwhile, the BJP had objected to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government creating three wards and dividing them into constituencies as per their convenience. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government demanded that the illegal increase in the number of members in the local self-government bodies should be cancelled immediately. After that, the number of wards in many municipalities was increased by the government.
The decision to reduce this increased number was made in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. It was decided to divide the wards into four. But the state government, in the gazette issued on January 17 2022, has specified that each ward should not be less than two and not more than four. This Gazette has not been cancelled.
Therefore, Ajit Deshmukh, Electoral Decision Officer of the Municipal Corporation, said that although new wards will have to be formed, one ward of three members will remain. But after the change of power in the state, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has decided to structure the ward as in 2017 in the cabinet meeting. Therefore, there is still confusion about ward members.
In the Pune Municipal Corporation elections in 2017, there was a four-member ward. When Maha Vikas Aghadi was the government in the state, they divided it into three. At that time, the number of corporators was 173. But now the number of corporators will be 166. Therefore, the number of corporators will decrease by seven, irrespective if the new ward structure is made by three or four.
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